Saskatoon artist becomes first Canadian licensed by Disney Fine Art

This past December artist Denyse Klette signed a contract with Disney Fine Art, opening doors to an international art market.

In 2016 Denyse received a Creative Saskatchewan Market and Export Development grant to show her artwork at several tradeshows throughout the United States. This included Miami’s Red Dot Art Expo, where Denyse first impressed Wyland Galleries with her bronze project Feeling a little blue, sparking an invitation to sculpt at the Disney Fine Art Show in Epcot.

“I can absolutely say that without Creative Saskatchewan grants none of this would have happened… I look back over the last four years and I know that the grants available through Creative Saskatchewan is one of the most valuable tools that an artist can use.” –Denyse Klette

Creative Saskatchewan invested again in Denyse’s business, this time with a Craft and Visual Arts Production grant to produce more bronzes in 2018. Wyland Galleries eventually sent Denyse’s sculpted Tinkerbell painting, finely detailed with Swarovski crystals, to Disney Fine Art for consideration. This piece based on Denyse’s favourite Disney character from childhood caught their attention, and the rest is history.

Disney Fine Art, though not owned by The Walt Disney Company, is the official licensee of The Walt Disney Company and the exclusive global publisher of Disney fine art. There are only forty Disney Fine Art artists worldwide, making it ground-breaking that Denyse has become the first Canadian in the twenty years of Disney Fine Art’s history to be signed on, quite fittingly, on Walt Disney’s birthday.

Artists licensed by Disney Fine Art have permission to take any Disney creative property and create artwork inspired by that material. Each piece goes through a rigorous approval process with everything from conceptual drawings to the final completed artwork requiring approval by Disney artists from the original Disney or Pixar film. The originals are displayed in galleries at Disney’s international parks, including the Wyland Gallery Boardwalk flagship location in Disney World where Denyse’s Disney and non-Disney work will be displayed in an art show on March 19, 2020.

“I have been doing art for over 37 years full-time and to have this privilege to create Disney art is truly a pinnacle in my career.” –Denyse Klette

To follow along with Denyse’s creative endeavours, check out her Facebook or Instagram. More information about Creative Saskatchewan’s investment programs can be here.